The Barbecue Party
by Nairobi-Harper
Summary: When the Hall family throws a barbecue party to celebrate the end of summer, things don't go as expected.


Author's note: I know that some of you guys might have been waiting forever for this story, and trust me, I've been waiting forever to actually finish it! Once I upload this story, I'll upload the prequel along with it, which I've nearly finished. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

This is rather unusual for my stories, though this story takes place from Rosie's POV. If you feel that drains the quality of the story, just tell me and I'll give it a rewrite.

Disclaimer: I do not own Rugrats. The series belongs to Klasky Csupo. Hazel belongs to AsToldByHazelNut, Natalie is owned by EmmaPickles, Peter belongs to TCKing12, and Sherry Berry, whom is mentioned, is owned by celrock. I apologize for not asking for the usage of Natalie, EmmaPickles, if you're reading this, though seems you haven't been on much lately, and I felt that Natalie would be a good addition to the story. I can always remove her if you'd like.

 **The Barbecue Party**

It was another dashing summer morning in Boston. Sadly, however, summer would soon end there, as it was nearing September. Considering that this was the month in which many either began or went back to school, the majority of people were excited about school. Most had done their school shopping already, accompanied by either friends or parents. They were also enjoying their last day before school would start, which pleased many.

Recently, a certain family had thrown a barbecue to celebrate the end of summer. This family had been the Hall's, a family of four.

At the recommendation of Mary, the oldest daughter of Terry and Shannon, they threw a barbecue two days before school began. Since they were nice people, they invited just about everyone in the neighborhood, even if their patio couldn't fit everyone. Of course, this had mostly been the doing of their youngest daughter, Rosie, who was immediately scolded by her parents after the party ended.

"Rosie, just because we forgave you for what happened doesn't make it any better," Shannon began to scold.

As the father, Terry stepped into the conversation.

"That's right, even if you two certainly won't be locked in a dungeon for your actions, that does not mean that you can go around doing things like that without permission," Terry added, scoffing. "I mean, inviting everyone in the neighborhood to our barbecue? We understand that you two had good intentions, although we couldn't feed _that_ many people, and even had to run down to the store a few times!"

It was indeed true that the two had had good intentions, although this didn't make their parents' scolding's any less truthful.

"We're sorry," Mary and Rosie said at the same time.

Terry opened the patio door for them all, before shutting it.

"I'll go outside to get that in a while," Terry mumbled.

"I think that for now, you two should go to your room," Shannon told them.

It wasn't that this was a type of punishment, although Shannon and Terry themselves simply wanted to relax after they had over-worked themselves.

"I swear, if something like that happens again, we will not have a barbecue again for a very long time," Terry warned.

With shame, Rosie and Mary nodded at this as they walked into their shared room.

"I can't believe that that happened, and that I'm getting blamed for it," Mary complained, scoffing. "I mean, this was the one time when I went against your idea, and I'm getting punished for it?"

Rosie herself understood that this wasn't a punishment of some sort, although that didn't stop her from being upset at her sister's accusations.

"Hey, it wasn't all my fault," Rosie insisted. "Reggie is the one who lied to us!"

"Yeah, but it was part of your fault," Mary reminded her sister as she sat down.

The three-year old kicked a stuffed animal before groaning and sitting down, knowing that she couldn't argue her own point.

"Could I at least talk to Tommy?" Rosie asked. "Today has been exhausting, and I want my bestest boyfriend to know about the barbecue."

Mary rolled her eyes before nodding.

"What?" Rosie asked.

"Nothing," Mary said. "Now let's set up your conversation on my iPad."

After stating this, she turned on the iPad and went to FaceTime. Rosie, of course, watched this in admiration, hoping that one day she could set up the iPad herself, though at three-years old, the most she knew to do was scroll on an electronic device.

Though it took a few minutes, in which Rosie began to get impatient, Mary had eventually set it up, and they were calling Tommy. Since Peter's phone was usually used for this, technically, they were calling him, though he always understood that Rosie wanted to talk to Tommy, and invited Tommy in immediately.

It took about a minute, though Rosie eventually saw Peter's face on the screen, and smiled once she saw that it turned out that she would get to speak to Tommy today.

"Hi, Peter, its Mary and this is Rosie, as you know," Mary told the teen. "Rosie's here to talk to Tommy."

Peter nodded in understanding.

"Tommy will be excited once he hears about this," Peter said, standing up. "He's been feeling a little down lately. Surely, your arrival will cheer him up."

Hearing this, Rosie frowned. It always pained her to hear or see that Tommy was upset, especially since he was such a sweet boy, and she didn't think he deserved all that hurt.

While Mary did feel her fair share of empathy for her younger sister's boyfriend, she usually exited the room at this time to give them privacy. Even whenever she was angry with Rosie, she still trusted her sister enough to give her privacy during conversations.

"I'll leave you two alone while I call Krystal and tell her all about the party," Mary said, leaving the room.

Rosie waved goodbye to her, though was so caught up in Tommy's issue that she barely realized her sister had left.

Eventually, Tommy walked onto the screen, while Peter stood behind him, holding the newspaper and appearing concerned.

"Are you positive you're alright, Tommy?" Peter asked.

"I'm fine, Peter," Tommy insisted. "Can you give me and Rosie privacy, please?"

Peter understood, as he would want privacy, as well, if he were Tommy, and left the room with his newspaper, though sat nearby. He would hate for something bad to happen, and his neglect being the cause of it. However, at the same time, he trusted the two toddlers.

Once the king had left, Tommy turned to the screen, smiling now that he could finally see his pink-haired girlfriend.

"So, how was the party?" He asked.

Rosie smiled back, glad to see that he was feeling better, and that she was the cause of it.

"It was great," Rosie said. "Want me to tell you about it?"

Tommy nodded, taking a seat since he knew his girlfriend's stories were always long.

"Thanks for always listening to my stories, Tommy. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You're welcome, Rosie, and I don't know what I'd do without you, either. My life sure would be boring."

Rosie giggled before beginning to explain all that had happened during the barbecue.

"Well, see, it started out like this…"

 **Rosie's POV**

I woke up in the morning, along with Mary, since I smelled barbecue. Not sure if you know this, but I especially love burgers. Mary likes the chicken better.

But, anyway, we got up and turned out that our mommy and daddy had already started barbecuing.

"Isn't it a bit early?" Mary asked.

Daddy shook his head at that, explaining that our guests would be coming at noon, and if they started barbecuing at noon, it'd be too late.

"We don't want the food to be late for our guests," Daddy reminded us.

"You two might want to stay away from the grill," Mommy said. "It's hot, and we wouldn't want you burning yourselves."

Course, you know how protective mommies are, Tommy, so Mary and me weren't surprised at that comment. We do know that it's true, though.

"When will it be ready?" I asked.

I'm also really glad that I can talk to the growed ups now, since I can tell them my 'pinions and stuff. I can't say everything, obliviously, but I can speak a few words, and that's good enough for me.

"We can't determine that, rosebud," Daddy told me. "In a few hours, probably."

Not sure if you noticed this either, Tommy, but sometimes, my daddy calls me a bundle of roses or rosebud. Since my name is Rosie, Mary told me that's based off my name, which I think is cool and nice of my daddy.

Unfortunately, sometimes my temper gets the best of me, so I almost started one of my tantrums.

"A few hours?" I asked impatiently. "Why?"

You've probably gone through this before, since you're four and all, but there's a certain stage during the transition from a baby to a growed up where you're always asking your parents and people _why_ , since you finally realize that it makes no sense. Right now, seems like I'm going through that stage, since I can't always help but ask why.

And then mommy gave that response that I always find annoying.

"Because," Mommy said. "Now, Mary, why don't you call Krystal and a few of your friends to remind them of their invitation to the party? Rosie, I think you should go along."

My parents always do this thing when they get us out of the room, since we're distracting them or something. I think a simple 'get out' would be harsher, but maybe a bit better.

"Okay, Mama," Mary said, once again taking my hand as we walked inside.

Even though she has an iPad, with Mary's best friend Krystal's tons of sisters and brothers, her family can't afford any of the stuff that Mary and me have, since they gots a lot of children to raise. Because of that, Mary and Krystal always talk on the phone, since Krystal doesn't have a FaceTime.

"You sit here," Mary told me as I groaned and sat down.

I'm glad that I'm going to pre-school soon, since it's no fun not knowing every number, and therefore just ending up pressing buttons whenever I talk on the phone. I wanna learn, but instead I just end up beeping something, and it annoys everyone.

Since Mary's eight, she knows how to talk on the phone, and talked to Krystal for just about forever while I waited there, wanting something to do.

I was getting impatient, and I'll admit also a little fussy, so I started screeching, but only loud enough for Mary to hear.

Trust me, I regret that now, but sometimes, my feelings get out of control enough for me not to care about others for the time being. I do wanna apologize to Mary after we finish this talk, though.

"Rosie, quiet," Mary whispered, putting her eyebrows together to make something grandma used to call a scowl.

I do the same thing a lot, especially whenever I'm annoyed. But, back on the subject, cuz I'm getting off topic.

I rolled my eyes at her, before continuing to screech. Yeah, it's why a lot of people hate getting me mad; I'm just as bad as my mommy whenever she's mad.

"Rosie!" Mary shouted.

Since Mary can shout really loud, I got quieter after this, but continued to fuss and complain, since whenever I really want something, I, like any three-year old out there, like to get it.

"What?" I asked, though knowing why she was upset.

"Ugh, Krystal, I have to go, Rosie's being a total brat," Mary complained.

One thing that I hate being called is a brat. Sometimes, my behavior is really bratty, but that doesn't make me a brat, at least not in my language. At least tell me that I'm acting bratty, or like a brat.

"Hey, I'm not being a brat!" I shouted.

Then Daddy walked in, raising an eyebrow. That seems to be something we all do in our family, but a lot of other people have troubles with that, so I call that 'The Hall Family talent.'

"Okay, what's going on here?" Daddy asked. "You two are shouting like crazy, while your mother and I are barbecuing. Or, as that girl Kim Possible from your favorite show would ask, Mary, what's the sitch?"

Of course, me and Mary laughed at this. I'm guessing that you haven't caught it before on TV, since it's one of those shows that airs on Disney, and I know you don't like that channel all that much, but the show is about a teen spy, and it's super cool! Her name is, like the title says, Kim Possible.

"There is no sitch, Dad, now stop talking like Kim Possible," Mary said, but still giggling.

Daddy sat down with us.

"Really, though, what's going on?" He asked. "It's making your mom stressed to hear all the shouting."

I wanted to tell him all about it, but I only said the one word I know he'd be able to figure out.

"Brat," I said, glancing at Mary and crossing my arms.

Mary's mouth opened wide at this, to which she nervously giggled at daddy.

"What's all this about brats?" Daddy asked with a serious look on his face.

Of course, Mary looked ashamed, while I was just upset. Since Mary is really truthful – at least most of the time – she told Daddy the truth.

"I called Rosie a brat, but only cuz I was mad," She admitted.

As a daddy, our daddy gave us a full speech on how even when we are mad with each other; name-calling shouldn't happen since it only leads to more trouble. When he was done with his speech, we nodded and he left the room, which also left me feeling a bit guilty because I do know that I can be annoying sometimes.

"Do you wanna call Krystal back?" I asked.

She shook her head.

"Krystal got the memo," Mary explained. "I just don't know who else to invite."

I raised my eyebrow again, which I love doing.

"Don't you have other friends?" I asked.

Somehow, and I still don't know how, she saw this as mean, so she made this really irritating sound, which was really close to yelling.

"Of course I have other friends!" Mary said. "They're just moving back home from summer vacation, though."

After yelling this, she crossed her arms, like she always does when she thinks she's proved her point. We didn't talk for a minute before a genius idea came to me (no matter what Mary says, I swear that it was one of my bestest ideas ever, at least at the time.)

"Why don't we just invite everyone in the whole wide neighborhood?" I asked.

Of course, Mary didn't like the idea all that much, since not only by her standards, is it considered bad, but also seems that she's just finding tons of ways to not agree with me lately.

"Rosie, that's ridiculous," Mary insisted. "Not only do we not like _every_ one in the neighborhood, but that makes no sense whatsoever. You have to reconsider a lot of stuff there."

Tommy, if you don't see why I don't agree with Mary's 'pinion yet, then let me ask you this. When have I ever thought of logic during my plans? I'm not really all that much of a fearful person, so I don't really think things through, and instead I like to have fun. Isn't that most toddlers' plan in life? I told Mary the exact same thing, and she just gave a sigh and told me that I'm impossible, before sitting down and beginning to dial a few people.

"Yay!" I said, since I'm always happy to have people agree with me. "Okay, let's call Hazel first. You know her phone number, right?"

Obliviously, since I haven't recognized all the numbers yet, I barely know Hazel's phone number, even as her very bestest friend.

Mary nodded and dialed Hazel's phone number, only for her mommy to answer.

"Hello, this is the residence of the Levine's," Hazel's mommy answered.

Mary looked at me one more time, giving me that look that asks 'should I or should I bail?' Since Hazel is my very bestest friend, I nodded again telling her that she should.

"This is Rosie's older sister, Mary," Mary explained, but not before glaring at me for a second. "You guys are still coming to our barbecue party today, right?"

"Oh, of course, Mary," Hazel's mommy told her. "We wouldn't miss it for the world. Hazel especially has been excited about it all week, and won't stop going on about how good the food will taste."

Course, Mary, and me giggled at this.

"Mommy!" Hazel called, clearly from somewhere far away, which I could tell cuz of the sound.

"Oh, Mary, Rosie, excuse me for a second," Hazel's mommy said, 'fore pulling away from the phone. "Yes, Hazel?"

"Mommy, lunch?" Hazel asked.

"Oh, Hazel, sweetie, we'll be having lunch once we get to Rosie's house," Hazel's mommy explained. "I don't think you should eat right now, otherwise you won't have room for what Rosie's mommy and daddy make."

Once Hazel seemed to remember this, she smiled.

"Barbecue," Hazel said, clapping.

Hazel's mommy nodded, before 'turning to the phone.

"Was that all you two came here for?" She asked.

"Yeah," we saided.

"Well, okay, you two, have fun," Hazel's mommy said before she hanged up.

We talked to a bunch more people on the phone, which I'm sure you wouldn't like to hear about cuz it's real boring, before daddy came in with the news that the barbecue was ready.

"Rosie, Mary, barbecue is ready," Daddy said with a smile. "I can't wait for the guests to come."

We walked outside with him, and I finally started to question my decision.

'Was that a good idea?' I asked myself. 'Mommy and daddy probably won't like it when all those peoples get here.'

But, it was too late to question that. Hazel and her mommy and daddy came first.

"We're glad to be here," Hazel's mommy told my mommy. "In fact, Rosie and Mary called me just to assure that we were coming. It was just adorable."

Mommy gave us a confused look, which made me and Mary shrink back.

"Oh… kay," our mommy said. "Thanks for coming here, along with Hazel. I hope you enjoy the barbecue."

Hazel's mommy smiled, putting Hazel down. I didn't mention this since I'm only three, and not that good with explaining stuff, but she was carrying Hazel once they gotted out of their car.

Hazel walked over to us, and Mary greeted her.

"Hi, Hazel," Mary said.

"Hi, Mary," Hazel 'plied. "Hey, Rosie."

I smiled at her, and she smiled back.

"Hey Hazel," I answered. "Don't tell our mommy and daddy this, but me and Mary have a plan."

I almost didn't catch it, but Mary rolled her eyes at me.

'Course, Hazel loves playing and plans just as much as I do, so she was delighted to hear this.

"Ooh, what's the plan?" Hazel asked, really excited.

"Okay, so, me and Mary" –

"You mean you," Mary interrupted. "Just so you two know, as far as I'm concerned, I don't have all that much to do with this. I don't fully agree with this plan, so you two can do it on your own."

After saying that, Mary walked away from us, rudely. I only scoffed at her.

"She's been really mean lately," I explained. "So let's just ignore her."

Even though she was still kinda confused from what I could tell, Hazel nodded.

"So, what's the plan?" Hazel asked.

"We gotta wait for everyone and greet them and stuff," I explained.

"Oh," Hazel said. "Okay, but, how many people did you invite?"

I can't exactly count yet, 'cept for the first three numbers of the whole number alphabet thingy, and if I try hard enough, I can remember the next few numbers. I reminded Hazel of the exact same thing.

"Oh yeah," she said. "Well, I just only hope you didn't invite a gazillion. I can't imagine how angry your mommy and daddy would be about that."

I hadn't thought of that yet, and our next guests came a few minutes later. They were Reggie and his mommy.

Hazel and me were listening from outside.

Tommy, I know that you do not like Reggie, and I sure do not either, so I'll tell you now that things got very bad from there.

Reggie was holding his mommy's hand, and he sure didn't seem too happy about it.

"Mom, I'm a big boy now," Reggie tried to tell his mommy. "I don't need to hold your hand."

Obliviously, as a mommy, she didn't care much to actually listen. It seems that she doesn't ever care all that much for what Reggie has to say.

"Of course you are, sweetie," she said, but she wasn't even paying that much attention to Reggie.

Mommy and Daddy must've sawed Reggie and his mommy, because they walked right on over there with large smiles on their faces.

"Rhonda, it is so nice seeing you and Reggie here," Mommy said.

Growed ups don't know as much about big kids as we do, Tommy. They really don't.

"Why, thank you, Shannon," Reggie's mommy responded. "I'm here to drop Reggie off, of course. Smile, sweetie."

Since he just loves making our lives miserable and pretending that he's nice to the growed ups, Reggie smiled really fakely at my mommy and daddy. It is so annoying!

"But, enough of the conversation, Shannon, Terry, I have some serious work to do today," Reggie's mommy explained.

"Oh, of course," My Daddy said.

Ignoring him, like all of the people in Reggie's family seem to do, she turned to Reggie.

"Are you going to be a good boy for the Halls during this barbecue party, Reggie?"

Reggie gave her the usual 'of course, of course,' before she gave him a kiss on the cheek, which made him (rightly, too,) embarrassed, and then she left in her huge business car.

Mommy and daddy smiled at Reggie once his mommy had left.

"Nice to see you on this fine morning, Reggie," My Daddy said.

"Yes, Reggie, we always enjoy having company over, especially during barbecues, and you're such a great role model to the girls," Mommy said.

Obliviously, as you can see, Tommy, my mommy knows nothing about Reggie. Instead of what she said he is, Reggie is actually a mean, lying, bully, who uses the fact that he's older to his advantage at every chance he can.

"In fact, the girls are right over there," Daddy said, pointing to us. "Don't know where exactly Mary went, though. I assume she went inside, which I'll have a talk about with her later."

Once Reggie heard this, he grinned with that evil grin of his.

"That's not good," Hazel whispered.

Reggie walked over to us even without being told to, and at first sat down with us. It almost looked like we were having a good conversation, until my mommy and daddy started focusing on the barbecue again. Then Reggie got back to his usual mean self.

"You dumb lady babies are only lucky that this is just a barbecue and we're outside," Reggie told us. "Otherwise, I'd be breaking your toys as fast as I could."

I groaned to myself. I always don't like Reggie's visits, since he's really mean and only ruins the fun for us.

"Nuh uh," Hazel insisted. "We wouldn't let you."

Of course, this only got Reggie angrier.

"I'm a growed up, and you two are only stupid, so sit down and do what I tell you," Reggie ordered.

I hate being demanded to do stuff. I'm Rosie Hall, and no one can tell me what to do!

"We're not stupid," I told him. "You just want us to believe you so that we'll follow you around like some type of dogs."

Reggie groaned. He always gets annoyed when we don't listen to him, which is most of the time, but I think he deserves it, if he wants to be so mean.

"You baby ladies are such little rats," Reggie complained. "Where's your dumb older sister, Mary?"

"None of your beeswax," I told him.

Obliviously, life couldn't even let me get that line past him, since Mary opened the patio door just a second later.

"Is the barbecue ready?" Mary asked, before turning to glare at Reggie. "Oh, Reggie, it's you."

Of course, since mommy and daddy don't know Reggie too well, they got mad at Mary for saying it that way.

"Now, Mary, you need to make everyone feel welcome," Mommy insisted. "So you cannot speak like that to Reggie!"

Daddy raised his spatula with a serious scowl.

"That's right, Mary, Reggie is a guest, and he is also your friend, not your enemy, and you need to treat him like that," Daddy explained.

Since Mary understands just how mean Reggie is, she made that long 'I'm annoyed' moaning sound.

"But daddy" –

"No buts, Mary," Daddy interrupted. "As for the food, that's almost ready, and we're waiting for more guests. For now, either plays outside with the three – and be nice to Reggie – or go back inside and talk to Krystal on the phone."

Mary rolled her eyes before walking back inside with her iPad, leaving us to ourselves.

"I can see why Mary said your name that way," Hazel said, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, you're meaner than any bully on TV," I complained.

Since Reggie doesn't treat us like equals, he didn't care.

"Whatever," Reggie said. "Point is, I'm the oldest here, unless anyone has something to say about that."

"I do," a voice said.

We all turned around and saw Mary's best friend, Krystal. Once she heard this voice, Mary ran outside with a smile.

"Krystal, you're finally here!" Mary exclaimed.

Me and Hazel smiled at each other before taking this opportunity to get up and go greet Krystal.

"Hi," we both said to her.

Since Krystal doesn't like Reggie much, either, Reggie didn't have many good things to say to her.

"Sup," Reggie said, though if you looked at him carefully, he wasn't very happy.

"Hello, Mary," she said to Mary, before looking down at us. "Hello, darlings."

Krystal acts funny, like the growed up girls on TV, and so does her mommy. They call us 'darlings' and they're always wearing those weird outfits, like even when it's summer, Krystal sometimes wears a scarf that she says is from Paris or something.

"Oh, Molly!" Mommy and daddy exclaimed, running over to her mommy.

I don't get why my mommy and daddy like Krystal's mommy so much, but I do know that she has a great job, and works at a booty salon, and does hair and nails and stuff. I think that's where my mommy goes for her hair.

"Hello, darlings," Krystal's mommy said to them with a smile. "I finished up with work two hours ago, so I'm free to stay."

She continued explaining how her day went while Krystal joined our conversation after talking to Mary. Mary did the same.

"So, what are you guys doing?" Krystal asked with a smile.

Unless there's some type of argument going on between me and Mary, which usually ends with Krystal choosing Mary's side, as her best friend, Krystal is nice to me and my friends most of the time. That's why Hazel and me told her.

"I had the awesomest idea to invite everybody to the barbecue," I explained.

"Everyone in the _neighborhood,"_ Mary added in a real grumpy tone.

She still didn't seem like she liked my idea too much, and I could tell that she wanted to do something else.

Krystal was very surprised to hear this.

"Really?" Krystal asked.

Since we hadn't tolded Reggie yet, he was real surprised to know, too.

"You dumb baby ladies had enough guts to invite everyone in the whole entire neighborhood?" Reggie asked.

I grinned. Coming from Reggie, that almost sounded like a compliment! I could tell that Hazel was about to answer, but then Mary did.

"Rosie sure did," Mary pointed out. "And I don't agree with it at all!"

Reggie was real surprised about this, and we could all tell by now that he was about to take advantage of the situation. Mary and Krystal decided to leave before they could drag _them_ into this. That's right, Tommy, I said 'them,' because they didn't seem to care much for what would happen to us, long as they wouldn't get in trouble. I guess you can see now that I was right when I said that Mary was being real mean, and still is.

"Krystal, guess what?" Mary asked, trying to change the subject. "I have this new doll, wanna go check it out?"

Seems that Krystal always has to agree with Mary, so she chose Mary's side, and they both 'cused themselves from the playpen and walked inside. Mommy and daddy noticed that.

"You two are going inside?" Daddy asked.

Mary and Krystal nodded.

"Well, alright, kids, just be safe," Mommy told them.

Krystal closed the patio door and they were inside our 'apartment again.

I try my best to never cry since I know that everyone wants to see me happy, Tommy, but I almost felt like crying after they left. Just like he always does, Reggie picked up on this.

"What's the matter, little baby gonna cry?" Reggie asked, laughing.

Hazel scrunched her eyebrows together at him and gave a glare.

"Rosie's not a baby, and before you say anything, I'm not, either," Hazel told him strictly. "Reggie, if you don't leave us alone, we're going to tell on you. We can talk to the growed ups better now, so it's not like we can't."

Even though I was still feeling really sad, and, just thinking about it, still kinda am, I gave Hazel a small smile since she gave a really good point.

But, just like I said, Reggie always refuses to give up, so he only continued bothering us.

"And?" Reggie asked. "I would've said this earlier, but inviting everyone in the neighborhood to some barbecue is the stupidest idea I've ever heard! I can speak better than both of you stupid baby ladies, so who's to say that I won't tell Shannon and Terry that you invited everyone?"

Bad news is, that sometimes, even for someone as mean as him, Reggie can make some good points – and that's not good at all. Me and Hazel still tried to keep up our stance, though, and stay true to our 'pinion.

"Rosie's mommy and daddy are very nice people, they wouldn't care," Hazel insisted.

We both knew that was a lie, though. Even though my mommy and daddy are really nice peoples, just like you know, Tommy, they can still be really strict when they want to, like the first time I drawed on the walls. I had to sit in timeout for a whole gazillion years, I swear! Mary called it five minutes, but I'm telling you that it wasn't!

But, that's another story for another time. For now, I'm telling you about how the barbecue party went.

"Ha, of course they would!" Reggie said. "It's not like you two are the queens of the world!"

Neither of us were gonna give up yet. I'm telling ya, Tommy, whenever either Hazel or me want to prove something, we _will_ fight someone through it. Sure, it's gotted me in trouble a few times, but at least I won the fight.

"Yeah, well, it's not like they'd do anything all that bad," I said, raising my voice a little. "The worstest they'd do is timeout corner."

That evil grin that I absolutely _hate_ came to Reggie's face. Sorry if I'm scaring you, baby, but I just wanna tell the story in detail like Mary always does.

But, anyway, that, 'course, meant that Reggie had a really, really, mean idea, and that it wouldn't be good for either me or Hazel.

"Actually, no, they wouldn't," Reggie said.

I know it's bad when he doesn't add 'baby ladies' or the words 'stupid' or 'dumb' in his sentence. That's why it scared me and Hazel, but we tried to stay and look brave.

"Yeah, and what's worser than timeout?" Hazel asked, her arms crossed.

Before he told us, I couldn't really think of anything, since, at least to me, timeout is like jail; if I get up, I'm in trouble, and if I continue to sit and maybe even sit through the whole thing, I'm _still_ in trouble! It's just not fair!

And then, just like he usually does, Reggie lied to us. I'm pretty sure that this lie caused us the most trouble ever, though.

"The dungeon," Reggie said, and he leaned close to our ears to whisper it.

"Dungeon?" Hazel and me asked at the same time.

Now, what Reggie says usually doesn't make sense, but this made the least sense, and we wanted to know what he was talking about. It definitely wasn't good.

"That's right, the dungeon," Reggie whispered, acting all serious.

"Reggie, can you just get to the point and tell us what 'the dungeon' is?" Hazel asked, getting annoyed with Reggie.

I agreed with her, since I don't like it when people take forever to tell me things. I'm someone who doesn't have much patience, especially when there's something that I really wanna find out.

Reggie rolled his eyes at his, mumbling something about us being stupid, before finally telling us what 'the dungeon' was.

"The dungeon is a place where the growed ups put naughty little kids," Reggie explained. "It's a place that's like a crib, but its grey and has chains on it. Growed ups never let you out of there, even when you start crying."

Even though we were scared enough, Reggie just had to lie even more!

"In fact, if you get sent there, they _never_ ever let you out," Reggie continued. "They leave you there until you're the age of a grandma."

It felt like our point was getting weakerer and weakerer by the second, 'specially since his explanation was making us scared, but we always try not to give up when it comes to Reggie.

"They wouldn't do that," I insisted.

"Yeah, our mommy and daddy's love us, they wouldn't dare," Hazel added.

Reggie shook his head with that evil grin of his, though.

"Oh, but they would," Reggie told us.

Once again, Tommy, sorry if I'm scaring you. I hope that when I tell you what Hazel said next, it might ease your nerves a little bit. That's what my mama always says whenever one of us is scared.

"How would you know?" Hazel asked.

"Yeah, have you ever been sent to this dungeon?" I asked, getting a suspicious look on my face.

If I weren't so scared, maybe I would have noticed that Reggie was a little nervous about us finding him out, and that he was telling a complete lie.

"Well, no, because I haven't done anything as bad as inviting the whole neighborhood over," Reggie said.

I scowled and stomped my foot, like I usually do when something sounds ridiculous.

"Yeah, you have!" I shouted. "Like the time when you ordered out pizza and faked a broked leg, or the time when you even locked me in a cage!"

I wouldn't 'fer to tell you about either of those times, Tommy, cuz I'm sure that they won't make you happy at all. They sure didn't make me happy!

My daddy walked over to us to make sure that we're okay, since, even if he can't understand every word I say, he probably could make out a few of them.

"Kids, what's going on over here?" My daddy asked.

Hazel was about to say something, but being as rude as he is, Reggie interrupted her.

"Nothing much, Terry, I'm just talking with these interesting ladies," Reggie lied with a fake smile.

My daddy didn't seem like he believed that all that much, and I was glad to see that.

"But, I thought I just heard yelling," My daddy said.

"Because," Hazel tried to say, but once again, Reggie just _had_ to interrupt her.

"Because we were only practicing talking loudly, because, uh, Rosie wants to be a news reporter when she's a growed up like you, Terry," Reggie lied.

I glared at him, but sadly, my daddy didn't notice, and my mommy called him over before I could even point out that I don't have all that much of interest in being a news reporter.

"Terry, there's a load more of guests here!" My Mommy said, looking really worried.

And suddenly, I felt real guilty, since I was the one who invited everyone over. But, still, I tried to convince myself that it wasn't really my fault, which I later realized – or, at least, am now realizing – was a bad idea.

"Coming, Shannon!" My Daddy called to my mommy, before looking back at us. "Sorry, guys, looks like we have a few more mouths to feed."

We heard him mumbling about how he was sure that he didn't invite this many people, which didn't make me feel much better. Reggie caught onto this, and grinned.

"Let me guess, you're worried about Shannon and Terry finding out that you invited all those people, huh?" Reggie asked.

It didn't help much that he was, at least from my view, happy about this.

"No, she's not," Hazel lied for me. "And why did you keep on interrupting me, Reggie?"

I was really happy at this change of subject, so I went along with it.

"Yeah, Reggie, that wasn't nice," I told him, glaring at him.

"And you yelling at me wasn't nice, but I was nice to you stupid baby ladies, and I covered that up for you," Reggie insisted.

"That wasn't being nice," Hazel argued.

"Yeah, you didn't cover anything up for us, you were just trying to save yourself from trouble," I reminded him.

Reggie still wouldn't let the idea of the dungeon go.

"Hey, I could've told Terry that you were the one who invited everyone, and that Hazel went with it, but I didn't," Reggie reminded us.

We were about to crawl away, but Reggie pulled us back by our overalls, which I forgot to mention that we were both wearing. Our mommies planned that out for us a week earlier, and we were both wearing blue overalls that day, instead of our usual outfits. But, I'm not here to tell you what I was wearing, I'm here to tell you an actual story, so sorry that I keep interrupting with little details like that.

"Uh uh uh, where do you little ladies think that you're going?" Reggie asked, scowling.

I looked over at my mommy and daddy, but they were too busy being confused and a little bit angry with the amount of guests that were coming.

"Terry, we didn't invite the Jetsons, did we?" My mommy asked, whispering in my daddy's ear.

"No, honey, I only invited the people that we're close to," My daddy told her.

They kept all that quiet, though, since the Jetson family was right there. The Jetsons are really weird, Tommy, I'll tell you that. They have a real annoying baby, and a mommy and daddy who are always smiling and talking, even when things aren't going well.

Reggie apparently sawed me looking at them, though, and let go, making me and Hazel fall on our bottoms.

"Ouch, Reggie, what was that for?" I asked.

"I have dirt on you two, so don't think that you're getting away so easy," Reggie told us with a glare.

"You can't force us to do anything," I told him.

"Yeah, we're Hazel and Rosie, we don't let anyone tell us what to do," Hazel said strictly.

This didn't make Reggie all that happy, obliviously.

"Well, you two had better learn to from now on, because unless you both want to be sent to the dungeon and never come out again," Reggie said, glaring at us again.

I said one of those things that I always say whenever I'm really scared and, yet, at the same time, angry.

"Yeah, well, I bet that being locked in a dungeon for a gazillion years would be better than sitting here, being pushed around by you, Reggie," I told him.

Both Reggie and Hazel were surprised to hear this. Truthfully, if a dungeon like that really did exist, then that'd probably be a lie, since not even Reggie's mean behavior would be as bad as being away from my family and you for a gazillion years.

After getting over her surprise, Hazel fought back against Reggie with me.

"That's right," Hazel said, even if we both knew that was a lie.

"Oh, so do you want me to tell Terry and Shannon right now, you two?" Reggie asked.

He didn't even give us a chance to say 'no,' and he started to say my daddy's name, which is, as I know you've caught onto, my daddy's name, aside from the name I know him as, which is 'daddy.'

I interrupted him before he could say the rest of my daddy's name, since I know that I would hate to be locked away in a dungeon from you and my family. I'd probably cry every single day if that happened, and, at least until I get to that part in the story again, I really don't want to think about that right now.

"Stop it, Reggie," I told him. "Long as you don't tell my mommy and daddy about what I did, I'll do a few things that you want me to do."

I turned to Hazel, trying to see if she approved of this idea. I sure didn't like the idea myself, but I sure as heck didn't wanna be locked in a dungeon, either.

It didn't really look like Hazel liked the idea all that much, either, and I could tell that she was disappointed since she probably wanted to continue fighting back. None of the less, she pretended to agree, and nodded, although I could still tell that she wasn't all that happy about the idea herself.

"Great," Reggie said, grinning like he usually does when he's put us in a tough spot. "This is what you ladies gotta do: walk over and greet the guests by sticking your tongues out at them. Tell them that you guys are aliens from the planet Mars if they ask what's going on. Oh, and don't tell them that I told you to do any of this, or say my name."

He poked a threatening finger at us, and we got up, mumbling grumpily as I climbed over the playpen, along with Hazel.

"Why does he always have to tell us what to do?" Hazel asked, groaning.

"He likes to torture us," I explained to her.

Hazel nodded with disappointment as we walked over to the Jetson family, who's baby kept trying to poke at the grill.

'Can't he stop that?' I thought.

My mommy and daddy didn't seem to like it too much, either, and my daddy even asked them directly if they could move the baby back from the grill.

"Why, of course, Mr. Hall," the mommy said.

"I'd prefer it if you called me Terry," My daddy told her, a bit annoyed.

"Oh, but Mr. Hall, I prefer calling you Mr. Hall!" She said.

I don't like Mrs. Jetson's voice. That's mean, but it's true. Her voice is too high and she almost sounds like a robot whenever she talks.

I poked at Mr. Jetson, who jumped up. Mrs. Jetson clearly didn't like that he had jumped since she was holding their baby, which made me wonder why she cared about that, but didn't care that her baby almost touched a hot grill.

"Oh, hello, little ones," Mr. Jetson said to us.

We both wanted to scowl, but I glanced back at Reggie, and he was already scowling at us, basically saying that we _had_ to do this.

In response to this, me and Hazel stuck our tongues out at him.

"How rude!" Mrs. Jetson exclaimed, looking terrified.

The way she said that didn't make anyone happy; well, at least not me and Hazel. Reggie sure looked happy. He was giggling over in the playpen.

"Rosie, is that the way to greet guests?" My mommy asked, scowling at me.

I gulped. I only hoped that me and Hazel wouldn't get sent to the dungeon for doing that. My mommy and Mrs. Jetson sure did look angry.

'Maybe this was Reggie's plan all along,' I thought. 'Maybe by us sticking out our tongues at the Jetson's, he wanted us to go to the dungeon!'

As for Hazel, her mommy didn't look like she approved the idea, either, and was scowling at Hazel, too. Both our mommies are usually really nice, so this made us feel really disappointed in ourselves, even though it was Reggie's idea.

"Hazel, what has gotten into you?" Hazel's mommy asked. "This isn't like you."

Hazel started to say Reggie's name, but once again, he interrupted her.

"Terry, Shannon, how are those burgers going?" Reggie asked.

"Just fine, Reggie," My daddy replied.

"We're trying to make sure that they're very juicy," My mommy assured him.

The Jetsons' baby repeated what she said, but, I just got out of my baby years, so I still understand babies myself.

My mommy looked at me and Hazel, before looking back at my daddy.

"Terry, I'm going to carry Rosie and Hazel back to the playpen, could you entertain our guests and make sure that the food tastes good?" My mommy asked. "And, Mr. and Mrs. Jetson, we really are sorry about what happened with Rosie and Hazel."

Krystal's mommy gave a disapproving look, too.

"I don't know what got into your children, Shannon, Terry," Krystal's mommy said.

We both frowned at her as my mommy picked the both of us up and put us down in the playpen with Reggie.

"Sandy's about to arrive, you three, so be good," My mommy told us.

All of us nodded, but Reggie took it up to eleven.

"Of course, Shannon, I'll be on my very best behavior," Reggie insisted.

Even worser, my mommy actually smiled at him before walking off to continue barbecuing. I could tell by smelling the burgers that they were almost ready.

Once my mommy had gotten back to barbecuing, me and Hazel both glared at Reggie.

"Why did you make us do that?" I asked.

"Yeah, we could've gotten in a lot of trouble, which you basically said you wanted us to 'void," Hazel pointed out.

That only made me angrier, since what Hazel pointed out was true.

"Hey, hey, hey, that was just a bit of teasing," Reggie insisted. "You're about to start some real work."

Neither of us really wanted to know how he defines 'real work,' but he told us, anyway.

"Once the next guest comes, I need you guys to tie their shoes together," Reggie explained.

The next guest that came was some mean teen who Sandy doesn't like named Cassie, so we had no trouble doing that.

Once again, we ran out of the playpen and started tying Cassie's shoes together. I've seen Mary tie her shoes enough times, and Mary has tied my shoes for me enough times for me to know how to tie shoes by now, even if I find it a bit hard with some types of shoes.

Cassie sure didn't have a good reaction to that.

"Ugh, you little brats tied my shoes together!" Cassie complained.

"We're not brats," Hazel told her, glaring.

Just as we had wanted, Cassie tried to move, but she fell down.

I know that was really mean, but Cassie once tried to get Sandy kicked out of school all because Sandy failed a math test in middle school. Heck, her mom even started a petition called 'Kick the dumb kids out.' I don't know why Cassie hates Sandy so much, and Sandy doesn't, either, but I swear that someday, before Sandy graduates from high school, I'll get to the bottom of it.

Once again, none of the growed ups were happy about our behavior.

"Rosie, I thought we told you to be on your very best behavior," Daddy reminded me.

It did make me feel guilty, but this is Cassie, so I felt that it made sense.

Hazel's mommy was upset with her, too.

"Hazel, if you do this again I'll have to look into some punishments," Hazel's mommy told her.

Both our faces paled when she said that word. We both nodded before my daddy sighed. This time, instead of taking us back to the playpen, he put us a few steps away from the growed ups, saying that the food was ready. I'm pretty sure that from a growed up's point of view, our patio isn't the biggest one around, so it was getting really crowded in there, something that I didn't really think of.

"I'll let the food cool down while Terry gets the table," My mommy said, before adding, "My goodness, we have a lot of people here today."

We just sat there, glaring at Reggie while he gave us an 'I'm innocent' look. That didn't make us happy at all.

A few minutes later, my daddy came outside with the table and started setting it up.

"You know, there is an abnormal amount of people," Mommy said, looking around oddly.

"Maybe it's just a mistake," Daddy insisted.

"Terry, I'm starting to doubt that," Mommy said, disagreeing with the idea.

Someone else came at the door, so my mommy walked inside to get it.

It turned out to be Courtney and her mother.

Not sure if you remember her, but Courtney is my friend who has the funny accent and is really nice and interesting.

Reggie only groaned, but Hazel and me smiled as we heard Courtney giggling.

When they came outside, Courtney was holding her mommy's hand. Her mommy carried her to the playpen where the three of us were sitting, and we smiled at Courtney. Of course, Courtney's mommy was surprised to see so many people.

"Wow, big barbecue here, Shannon, Terry," Courtney's mommy pointed out.

My parents nodded.

"That's right, and we don't even remember inviting _this_ many people," My daddy said.

Once again, I felt nervous. That changed when Courtney spoke, though.

"I haven't seen you guys in so long," Courtney said, giggling.

Reggie wasn't as nice to her as she is to us. If it's Reggie, though, that qualifies with almost everyone.

"Before you ask, these two dumb friends of yours have to do what I say today, and you do, too," Reggie told her strictly, furrowing his eyebrows.

I could tell that Courtney felt angry and confused about this. Just like everyone does, she turned to us to ask about it.

"Rosie, Hazel, what is he talking about?" Courtney asked in her thick Russian accent.

I signaled Hazel to explain it, since I was feeling tired and upset, so being the good friend she is, she did.

"Reggie is blackmailing us," Hazel explained.

Reggie didn't like her explanation too much.

"I wouldn't call it that," Reggie told us. "I'm trying to save you dumb ladies, if you can't see that."

I began shivering, but tried to hide it, as I explained the next part to Courtney, who was still looking confused.

"Reggie says that our mommies and daddies will lock us up in a dungeon if we tell the truth about inviting everyone in the neighborhood over," I explained.

It took Courtney a minute to fully process this, but let me tell you that she was surprised.

"You two did that?" Courtney asked.

I nodded with a little bit of shame.

Courtney glared at Reggie.

"Reggie, you know they won't get sent to a dungeon, parents love us too much to do that," Courtney insisted.

"That's what these two dumb ladies said, too," Reggie said lazily, pointing at us. "But what would you know? You've never met a kid who's been sent to the actual dungeon with a lock that you're left in until you're the age of a grandma yourself, kid!"

That sparked an idea in my head, and I argued it.

"Have _you_ ever met a kid who was sent to this dungeon, Reggie?" I asked suspiciously.

For a quick second, I thought he looked nervous, but then he nodded. He grinned as he told the full story.

"A few years ago, before any of you were ever born, there was a little girl named Jenny," Reggie began.

I'll tell you 'Jenny's' backstory from Reggie's point of view.

 **Jenny's Story**

Jenny lived in a huge house with a bunch of toys and stuff. Since she always got what she wanted, Jenny hated the word 'no.' Jenny became a huge brat, and her mommy and daddy never learned how to tell her 'no.'

Because she got so bored all the time, Jenny became stronger. She pushed around kids at the park and she made sure that whoever she didn't like left town.

" _That sounds more like a bully than it does a strong girl," Courtney said._

" _Courtney, did I say that your 'pinion was needed?" Reggie asked._

" _Uh… no," Courtney said._

" _Great, then don't give it, and let me continue with the story," Reggie said, really meanly._

Once she went to school, Jenny got into lots of trouble. Every day, she was told 'no' by her teachers and classmates, and she couldn't stand it. Jenny went crazy.

" _If she went crazy from that, she has some serious issues," I pointed out._

" _Can you baby ladies stop interrupting me?" Reggie asked._

" _You do that to us all the time," Hazel pointed out._

" _That's different!" Reggie argued. "Just, let me continue with the story or else!"_

As life in kindergarten continued for her, she got worser and worser. Her parents didn't know what to do. She was throwing chairs at teachers and kicking kids off the play structure – no one liked it, but they didn't know what to do about it.

One day, a really old man came to their castle.

" _Is this going in the direction of Snow White?" Hazel asked._

" _My gosh, just shut up!" Reggie told us. "And no, it's not! This is an old man, not an old lady!"_

He explained to them how to make Jenny listen.

"If you want your little girl to listen, you must do as I say," He told them.

They were about to argue, but then Jenny threw a chair down the stairs.

"I hate the universe!" Jenny shouted.

"We'll do anything," Jenny's mother told the old man. "Anything to make her listen to us, and to respect us as equals."

The old man nodded.

"Well, this punishment might sound harsh, although you'll learn that it will gradually help your little Jenny over time," The old man told them.

"Please, tell us, and tell us quickly," Jenny's father said, dodging a chair that Jenny had thrown.

"You will need to lock Jenny in a dungeon until she has grown old," The old man explained.

"What?" They both asked in shock. "Why?"

"Jenny refuses to treat others as equals," The old man noted. "She is hinting that she would like to spend some time alone, yet you also need to punish her for her behavior and prove to her that it was wrong. Locking her in a dungeon until she is old enough to be a grandma is perfect."

They were about to reconsider, though then Jenny threw her shoe at her father's head.

"The deal is done," Her father said.

A week later, the old man came back. He walked upstairs to see Jenny screaming and crying, having been told a few days earlier that she would be locked in a dungeon.

"Calm yourself, child, this will help," He insisted.

That same day, the people of the town gathered around to see Jenny being locked in a dungeon. Slowly, she became real old, and people started to forget about her. By the time that she was old enough to come out, everyone had forgotten about her.

THE END!

End of Jenny's Story

None of us liked the story of Jenny.

"That was… depressing," Courtney said.

It sure didn't make us like the idea of a dungeon any better. I almost felt like crying about the idea of me being locked in a dungeon forever and people forgetting about me. I would hate for that to ever happen, just like I said earlier.

I guess that what Reggie had wanted worked, because he scared us into working for him.

Guests kept on arriving and arriving, and after the next few guests arrived, Reggie gave us another order.

"I need you three to tell the next person that comes that you hate them and their guts," Reggie demanded.

"Why?" Courtney asked. "That's not nice!"

"Of course it isn't, but would you guys like to be sent to a dungeon just like Jenny was?" Reggie asked us.

We all shook our heads 'no.' I don't like to think of any of us as brats, but I do know that none of us would like to live our lives in a cage up until we were as old as a grandma for sure.

"Great, then get to work!" Reggie ordered.

Even though we didn't want to, we all got up and snuck out of the playpen again.

If you're wondering why my mommy and daddy didn't just take us inside, let me tell you that I don't know. I guess there was too much stress because of the amount of people that were piling up, and how large everything was getting.

In fact, by this point, so many people were there that my mama was about to go down to the store to buy more meat for the barbecue, since the food was ready and not everyone could be fed.

"Terry, really, though, when did we invite so many people?" My mommy whispered to my daddy. "Did you invite all of these people?"

My daddy quickly shook his head.

"Truthfully, I barely know some of these people," My daddy told her.

I really felt like telling the truth by now, since all the guilt was catching up to me. I knew that we still had to do what we had to do, though.

Just as my mama was about to walk inside and get her keys to our car, our babysitter, Sandy, came to the door.

We weren't in there, but we sure did hear her.

"Hello, Shannon, I'm here to see you, Terry, and the minis, of course," Sandy told her.

I'm guessing that, by the tone of her voice, she was smiling while she said all of this.

"Hello, Sandy, it's wonderful to see you," Mama told her.

When we remembered what we had to do, it didn't make us feel good. In fact, it made me feel terrible to know that I had to tell Sandy that I hate her guts, even though I don't at all.

Sandy has been there for me since before I was even born. She's stuck with us through the good times and the bad, and cheers us up when we're sad. Sorry about the cheesy rhyming there, Tommy, I guess I'm just a rhyming machine since pre-school is starting soon.

That's why I couldn't do that to her, though. It'd ruin her good spirits, and you know that you've done bad when a nice person snaps at you.

None of us could do that to Sandy, and we all knew it. We looked at each other before I knocked on the patio door.

'Can I really do this?' I kept asking myself. 'I don't even wanna do this! Sandy is really nice!'

Mama heard us and opened the patio door for us, raising an eyebrow as we walked inside.

"How do you kids keep getting back inside?" She asked.

We all shrugged.

Sandy, of course, was happy to see us all.

"Minis!" Sandy exclaimed, running over to hug us.

We accepted the hug. I thought that maybe it might make me feel a little better about what I planned on doing.

Nature never works the way we want it to, though, and it didn't. I only felt worser.

"S-Sandy, we have something to tell you," Courtney whispered, shame clear in her voice.

Mama looked confused, too, as she grabbed her keys for the car.

"What is it, minis?" Sandy asked with a confused smile.

None of us could say it. Tears started to well up in our eyes, and then we all started crying in front of her.

Mama looked so surprised.

"What's wrong, girls?" My mommy asked.

"We were about to lie!" Hazel cried, tears running down her face.

"Uh huh!" I added.

"What?" Sandy asked. "Why, mini's? Don't you know that truthfulness is a step to success and happiness?"

"Yeah, but Reggie!" Courtney tried to explain.

"But Reggie what?" My mommy asked.

Reggie walked in after hearing his name, closing the patio door behind him.

My mommy gave Reggie a confused look, and he glared at us once he realized where this was going.

None of us cared that Reggie was in the room with us, and I told her anyway.

"Reggie made us do this stuff!" I explained.

Suddenly, my mommy scowled at Reggie. He gave her a nervous smile.

"Yeah," Hazel added. "He tolded us about a dungeon!"

"Uh huh," Courtney said, starting to wipe up her tears. "He said we'd be sent in a dungeon if we told the truth!"

Sandy tried to sympathize with us, patting our backs and allowing us to cry onto her shoulder.

My mommy let Sandy do all the sympathizing, and tried to find out more information.

"What dungeon?" My mommy asked, before turning to Reggie with a glare. "Reggie, what the heck is going on?"

Reggie tried to lie at first, but when my mommy glares, it's almost like she can see through you. It's really scary. It made Reggie tell the truth.

"Fine, I made those little ladies do stuff for me, but only because they never told you and Terry the truth about inviting everyone in the neighborhood over for this barbecue, Shannon," Reggie explained.

For once, Sandy glared at Reggie, and my mama looked terrified.

"So you lied to them about a dungeon existing for naughty children?" Sandy asked with horror, letting us hug her tighter.

Reggie groaned at their disappointed looks.

"That's right, but they shouldn't have been stupid enough to believe it," Reggie mumbled.

This set my mommy off, and she grabbed Reggie's hand with anger.

"That's it, Reggie, I'm doubling your timeout today," My mommy told him strictly. "Instead of ten minutes, you're staying in timeout for a full twenty minutes."

Reggie gasped. We were all happy to see that he wasn't glad about this.

"But that's like a gazillion years," Reggie complained.

"After everything that you've done today, I think you deserve to be in timeout for a gazillion years, but I'm not mean enough to do that," Mama told Reggie. "And it's not like I'm going to let this get past your mother either, young man."

I noticed that Reggie gulped after she said that.

"That's not fair," Reggie complained. "You're not even punishing Rosie and the others!"

Then, Mama hit us ourselves with her glare.

"Oh, trust me, Reggie; they'll be getting into trouble, but not as much as you will, because what you did was even worse," Mama told him.

Sandy finished soothing us and turned back to my mommy.

"Mrs. H., I can tell that you're a bit stressed from all this, and I want to do a favor for you, so I'll help you buy meat for the barbecue," Sandy said with a smile.

"Oh, Sandy, that's alright, I wouldn't like to stress the babysitter out," Mama insisted.

Sandy was right, though, and she ended up going along with my Mama to the grocery store to buy meat. Before she did that, though, she walked all of us outside, and explained something to us.

"I'm sure that you mini's know that even if what Reggie did was worse, what you did was wrong, too," Sandy pointed out to us.

With shame, we nodded at this, looking down with guilt.

"It was my idea," I admitted.

"Yeah, but we went along with it," Hazel added.

Sandy smiled at us.

"If you ever feel forced to lie, you shouldn't go along with it," Sandy told us. "It doesn't make you much better than the person who's forcing you to do so."

"Hey, Sandy, do you have a special quote for us like you always do?" Hazel asked her.

Sandy nodded with a smile, and sat down on the bench. After she was greeted by everyone, she told us of this quote.

"No legacy is as rich as honesty," Sandy told us. "Honesty represents the good; dishonesty represents the bad."

Just as we usually do whenever Sandy quotes something, we clapped. Everything that Sandy quotes is true, and it really makes you think… at least for a three-year old.

Mary and Krystal came back outside later on, and didn't seem to fully forgive us, but a bit happier.

Sure, we did get in trouble for inviting so many people later, and Mary hasn't forgiven me all that much since it all happened, but, the end of the barbecue went great.

Me and my friends sat and stared at the sky as the night came. We counted stars as we ate our burgers, and we talked about what true honesty is.

I feel that since then, we've all learned our lessons, and I hope that Reggie has, more or less, learned his too. Since this is Reggie that we're talking about, I doubt it, but never say never.

And that, Tommy, is the story of how the barbecue party went.

 **End of Rosie's POV**

Tommy, pleased with the story, began clapping. His three-year old girlfriend blushed at this.

"Wow, Rosie, that was the bestest story I ever heard," Tommy told her.

"Thank you, Tommy," Rosie responded, blushing nearly as pink as her hair.

After the long conversation, Mary finally walked in.

"Sorry, you two, but I have to call Krystal," Mary explained.

Peter seemed to agree with her.

"That's right, and I also must be getting back to the castle soon," Peter told Tommy.

Though in disappointment, both Rosie and Tommy nodded.

"Goodbye, Rosie," Tommy said.

"Goodbye, baby," Rosie told him with a blush as Mary ended the call for them.

"Did you tell him about the whole barbecue experience?" Mary asked.

Rosie nodded with guilt.

"Yeah, and I still feel bad about that," Rosie told her sister.

Mary sighed and put her hand on Rosie's shoulder.

"It's all right," Mary told her. "I don't even know why I left you alone with Reggie, anyway."

Rosie got up and walked out of the room as Mary called Krystal. The pink-haired toddler sat on their bed and smiled at the ceiling.

'Even if everything isn't perfect, life is going great,' Rosie thought. 'And I'm just really glad that dungeons like that don't actually exist.'

These were the toddler's last thoughts before she fell asleep for a nap, smiling during the full experience.

RUGRATSRUGRATSRUGRATSRUGRATSRUGRATSRUGRATSRUGRATSRUGRATSRUGRATSRUGRATSRUGRATS

And, that's a wrap right there! Hope that you guys liked this story! I'm typing it at 3:20 am in the morning, and it's also my longest one-shot!

I'll try to type up the last chapter for 'Kira's Birthday,' and then go to bed. Heck, you guys might even get another chapter of my Rugrats/Inside Out crossover 'Bad Haircut' out of me today, too!

I'm going to listen to a few empowering songs before I go to bed. I'm going to also listen to calming songs, such as 'Africa' by Toto. A few of the empowering songs will be 'Let it Go' from Frozen, which I'm sure that all of you have either seen or heard of (I saw it two years ago with a friend, and can't say I loved it, but it wasn't even somewhat bad… I'd re-watch it if I could,) and 'Stronger than You' by Garnet from Steven Universe (I recommend that if you haven't seen the show yet you don't listen to that song, since it might either spoil something for you or confuse you.)

Anyway, night, guys!


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